Cartoon

Disaster Relief

Written by SK Ashby

(Cartoonist - Rob Rogers)

In other news, a memo circulated at the Department of Homeland Security confirms that ICE will use the information Dreamers willingly provided to the government to deport them when the time comes.

Meanwhile, Chinese President Xi Jinping says anti-trade protectionism and climate change denial is threatening the global economy.

I remember when Republicans said acting on climate change would be pointless because China never will. You notice they don't say that anymore.

Finally, President Obama has released a statement on Trump's decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. You can read the full, lengthy statement here:

Over the years, politicians of both parties have worked together to write legislation that would have told these young people – our young people – that if your parents brought you here as a child, if you’ve been here a certain number of years, and if you’re willing to go to college or serve in our military, then you’ll get a chance to stay and earn your citizenship. And for years while I was President, I asked Congress to send me such a bill.

That bill never came. And because it made no sense to expel talented, driven, patriotic young people from the only country they know solely because of the actions of their parents, my administration acted to lift the shadow of deportation from these young people, so that they could continue to contribute to our communities and our country. We did so based on the well-established legal principle of prosecutorial discretion, deployed by Democratic and Republican presidents alike, because our immigration enforcement agencies have limited resources, and it makes sense to focus those resources on those who come illegally to this country to do us harm.

[...]

Let’s be clear: the action taken today isn’t required legally. It’s a political decision, and a moral question. Whatever concerns or complaints Americans may have about immigration in general, we shouldn’t threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking away anything from the rest of us. They are that pitcher on our kid’s softball team, that first responder who helps out his community after a disaster, that cadet in ROTC who wants nothing more than to wear the uniform of the country that gave him a chance. Kicking them out won’t lower the unemployment rate, or lighten anyone’s taxes, or raise anybody’s wages.

Those who live in Florida, the southeast or the gulf coast should be keeping an eye on Hurricane Irma, which became a category 5 storm with winds of 185 mph this afternoon. It's a monster that will impact areas far beyond the location it makes landfall.